3

Sign of Strength: Command, 

Faith, and Personal Example 

in Today’s Army

by General Michael X. Garrett, 

Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces Command

“So help me, God.”

I recited these words—the final words of our oath of office—

the day I was commissioned as an Officer in the United 

States Army. I have repeated them with each subsequent 

promotion throughout my 38-year career. And for the hundreds, 

if not thousands, of Soldiers whom I have had the honor to 

commission, enlist, re-enlist, and promote, “So help me, God,” 

has also been the final plea of their own oaths as they embark on 

their military journeys.
The Free Exercise of Religion and Spirituality in the Army 4

Sign of Strength

Without a shred of doubt, I believe that 

God has, indeed, helped me. He has 

blessed me with a strong and healthy 

family; with brave, hard-working teams of 

warriors; and with opportunities to serve 

and lead within the organizations that 

fight and win this great Nation’s wars.

And in these roles—particularly those 

bearing the weight and responsibility 

of command—God has helped 

me find clarity and comfort in the 

challenges I have faced, and the 

decisions I have made. 

Command is an incredible privilege, 

however, it is an occasionally (and 

inevitably) isolating experience. On such 

occasions, prayer helps me speak to 

God in special ways, especially when 

I may not have been able to share my 

thoughts, burdens, and concerns with 

another person. In this turn to prayer, I 

find renewed strength and wisdom for 

what lies ahead.

By exercising my personal faith, I have 

experienced that all things seem just a 

bit easier. My life works better for me 

when I am led by God, which means 

to me that I am earnestly representing 

to others what I myself have been 

taught. In this way I remain consistent 

to the values I have been exposed to 

throughout my life of faith.

Our “Army Leadership and the 

Profession” doctrine does not speak 

about faith and religion. However, it 

does say a lot about the importance 

a leader’s presence, and how we 

must demonstrate self-confidence, 

composure, resilience, and humility.1

Another leader’s interpretations of this 

doctrine may differ, and rightfully so, but 

in my own experience, my “presence” is 

directly correlated with the strength of 

my relationship with God. Experience 

has also shown me that many of our 

Soldiers, Army Civilian professionals, 

and Family members are at their best 

when they embrace their own faith.

If you are a Commander at any echelon 

in the U.S. Army, your leadership and 

your relationship with God sets the 

example for the presence and balance 

your people emulate as they persevere 

through life’s challenges. 

Leadership and Spirituality

Spirituality is a personal and complicated 

subject, but that does not mean spiritual 

conversations of faith should be 

considered forbidden or controversial in 

your organization.

Although the Army defines the 

“Spiritual Dimension” as one of its Five 

Dimensions of Personal Readiness,2

 I 

have observed Commanders who are 

hesitant to promote this pillar of wellbeing. Why this hesitancy?

I believe there are leaders who avoid 

conversations about religion, and in 

particular avoid sharing their own 

experiences. Perhaps they focus on 

potentially negative outcomes, such as 

complaints of offense by those who do 

not share their beliefs. Commanders 

understandably do not want to be 
5 The Free Exercise of Religion and Spirituality in the Army

Garrett

perceived as using their position of 

authority to proselytize to others. 

The reasons for this type of risk 

aversion are not lost on me; religion is 

rightfully protected by the Army’s equal 

opportunity program, and freedom of 

religion is the very first guarantee in 

the U.S. Constitution. Commanders are 

conditioned to look at their environment 

through the lens of risk, and some 

may decide the risk of violating these 

principles—and in turn, their Soldiers’ 

trust—is not worth taking.

However, I want you to know that by 

using the traits that helped you become 

a Commander (such as your ability to 

listen with empathy, and communicate 

with respect), you can easily navigate 

potential risks without eliminating 

the “Spiritual Dimension” from your 

conversations. 

I will illustrate my point with a physical 

fitness analogy, as I am prone to 

do. Although I am a fitness nut, 

my personal preference is not to 

run marathons, power-lift extreme 

weights, or follow an especially 

restrictive diet. However, I have 

learned healthy, interesting, and 

useful lessons from friends and 

teammates who practice these 

lifestyles. Some of their stretches, 

form adjustments, and recipes have 

found a place in my own routines. 

While other practices may not 

resonate with me personally, they 

nonetheless make for stimulating 

conversations and experiences. 

Conversations about spirituality hold 

the same potential. Those with a strong 

connection to faith have the powerful 

opportunity to reveal techniques and 

practices that may help their teammates 

build resilience. Leaders may, likewise, 

help build bonds through shared 

experiences when they show a healthy 

interest in the spiritual lives of those 

around them. And this can happen in 

the same way we show healthy interests 

in one another’s families, hometowns, 

hobbies, goals, and passions.

I encourage Commanders to build a 

climate where such conversations are 

welcome. I want, however, you as a 

Commander to emphasize—perhaps 

explicitly—that the Commander’s religion 

is not the command’s religion. Spiritual 

discussions within your teams should 

serve to spark and create inclusion and 

inspiration, as opposed to exclusion 

and condemnation. Your Chaplain is not 

only well-prepared to coach you through 

leading these types of conversations; 

they are also well-positioned to receive, 

transmit, and translate candid feedback 

from your Soldiers. 

Resurgence of Faith

While the Pew Research Center reports 

that Americans’ religious affiliation is 

declining,3

 I have anecdotally observed 

a resurgence of faith inside the U.S. 

Army, or at the very least that Soldiers 

demonstrate increased ease with 

expressing their own individual beliefs. 

This trend I am seeing encourages me, 

because I find there is a basic human 
The Free Exercise of Religion and Spirituality in the Army 6

Sign of Strength

connection between one’s faith and the 

life-and-death business of warfighting. 

Through almost four decades of 

commissioned service, I have witnessed 

the transition from battalion and brigade 

leaders of the late 1980s and ’90s who 

avoided discussing religion with their 

formations, to today’s Army where I see 

leaders who are willing to share their 

personal experiences with faith.

Whether this transition is attributable 

to the past 20 years of combat 

deployments, or other cultural and even 

generational factors, the collective 

impact reflects the “People First” Army 

we are committed to building and 

sustaining. The only way to put “People” 

first in our formations, is by prioritizing 

that which is inherently personal.

What I believe this means for today’s 

company, battalion, and brigade 

Commanders who get more frequent 

touchpoints with the same groups 

of Soldiers than I do at the four-star 

level, is that you operate in a spiritually 

permissive environment. Your Soldiers 

are likely comfortable with, if not 

actively open to, the positive ways 

that religion can impact their lives. 

Even your Soldiers who are among the 

three-in-ten U.S. adults who consider 

themselves religiously unaffiliated4

 have 

something to gain from the moral code, 

sense of community, and prospects for 

hope and optimism that are present in 

most major religions.

The Power of Your Personal 

Example

When I was preparing to become a 

battalion Commander, I received the 

wise advice to carefully consider which 

unit member I would first meet with after 

assuming command. All eyes are on the 

new Commander, and it made sense to 

me that my first meeting would send a 

message about my focus and priorities.

My first meeting was with my Chaplain 

because I wanted to show, not simply 

tell, the unit that my relationship 

with God is an important pillar in my 

leadership philosophy; and that I 

valued the Chaplain’s unique role to 

and access within the battalion. 

I am convinced that personal example 

is the only effective way to lead others, 

especially in our Army where young 

men and women deserve to see leaders 

willing to sweat and bleed at their side. 

One of the many ways I have strived 

to lead by personal example is through 

modeling the benefits of prayer and 

spiritual fitness, so that others could 

feel comfortable expressing their own 

personal faith.

Through my career, I have sought 

opportunities to grow in my personal 

faith, and to send Soldiers an 

encouraging, welcoming message 

about the importance of religion in 

their own lives. As Commander of U.S. 

Army Central, I even made the effort to 

attend mass in the Middle East’s major 

cities any time I found myself spending 
7 The Free Exercise of Religion and Spirituality in the Army

Garrett

the weekend in a permissive partner 

nation. By dedicating some of my time 

to praise, confession, and reflection, it 

was my hope that the Soldiers I visited 

felt equally empowered to take time 

for their own spiritual health—and 

specifically for religious expression, if 

they felt called to do so.

Beyond merely meeting with your 

Chaplain, I encourage you as 

Commanders to make them your partner 

in formulating the spiritual example you 

will set. Their experience and judgment 

will inform the opportunities you take to 

practice and discuss faith. Perhaps more 

importantly, your Chaplain will bolster the 

personal peace and perspective you gain 

from these opportunities.

As I wrote in this article’s opening, 

command inevitably involves isolating 

moments. In such time, where will you 

turn? Some choose to labor excessively 

long days or find fleeting satisfaction 

in recreational outlets, while still others 

may turn to unhealthy vices that destroy 

careers, relationships, and unit culture. 

Even in our loneliest or most stressful 

times, a leader’s responsibility is to 

model healthy behavior across all 

domains. When we show grace—the 

kind of grace I receive when I am right 

with God—during challenging times, we 

lead Soldiers to know it is possible (and 

expected) for them to do the same. In 

this context, the power of your personal 

example depends on the alignment 

between how you are seen practicing 

spiritual fitness, and how that spiritual 

fitness helps you walk a positive, 

respectful life. 

When I was selected to become a 

four-star general in the Army, General 

Joseph Votel, a leader I deeply respect 

and at the time my boss at U.S. Central 

Command, reminded me to “use my 

rank for good.” By this he meant I 

should seek opportunities to be a 

“happy general,” to give Soldiers and 

teammates positive interactions and 

memories, and to actively seek chances 

to help people attain opportunities they 

are bold enough to pursue.

I encourage this article’s readers—and 

any leader in our Army—to use their rank 

for good, and, even more importantly, 

to use their faith for good. You are in 

a unique, once-in-a-lifetime position to 

make a lasting impact on the people who 

will fight and win the Nation’s wars, and 

go on to lead Soldiers and communities 

of their own. 

I pray you choose to make spiritual 

fitness a part of your personal leadership 

example. With candor, humility, and 

presence, you will find there is very 

little risk—and a great deal of reward—

in acknowledging faith’s powerful 

connection with our profession of arms.

So help me, God.
8

NOTES

1 Headquarters, Department of the Army, Army 

Leadership and the Profession, ADP 6-22 (Washington, 

DC: Headquarters, Department of the Army, 2019), 

Table 3-1, https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/

DR_a/ARN20039-ADP_6-22-001-WEB-0.pdf.

2 Headquarters, Department of the Army, Comprehensive 

Soldier and Family Fitness, Army Regulation 350-53 

(Washington, DC: Headquarters, Department of the 

Army, 2014), 2-5, https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/

DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/r350_53.pdf.

3 Gregory A. Smith, “About Three-in-Ten U.S. Adults 

Are Now Religiously Unaffiliated,” Pew Research 

Center, December 14, 2021, https://www.pewforum.

org/2021/12/14/about-three-in-ten-u-s-adults-are-nowreligiously-unaffiliated/.

4 Ibid.

The Free Exercise of Religion and Spirituality in the Army

Sign of Strength